In case you haven’t been following the latest news about North America’s opioid crisis, Purdue Pharma LP (the makers of OxyContin) made an attempt to throw out a multitude of lawsuits that would hold them and other opioid makers responsible for the havoc their addictive products have wreaked on the country. But on June 19th, New York state court Judge Jerry Garguilo ruled that the lawsuits would still stand (1).

Then just one day later, Purdue Pharma fired their entire sales force.

A Purdue spokesperson told VICE News in an email, “The company will be pursuing new medications and unmet need for patients suffering from cancer and select central nervous system disorders.” (2)

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Purdue Pharma Pushed OxyContin to Doctors For Years, Then Fired Their Sales Employees For It

But let’s be absolutely clear here… Purdue Pharma has spent years using a sales force team to persuade doctors all over North America to prescribe more OxyContin to their patients. In fact, the drug accounted for 82% of Purdue’s sales in 2017 (2). But now that the public is catching on to the dangers of opioid use… now that the court has ruled they won’t let it slide, Purdue acts by pinning the blame on their sales employees.

This follows closely on the heels of a previous revelation that Purdue Pharma was aware (despite their previous claims) that their product was contributing to the abuse of opioids- a crisis which has already left many tens of thousands dead. Author Barry Meier speaks with FOX News about the company seeking special permission from the FDA to continue to promote their addictive product in spite of the crisis:

In the United States, pharmaceutical companies actively market their products to medical practitioners, often using coercive tactics like giving them gifts and free meals during sales pitches.

A 2017 meta-analysis confirmed the public’s fears: Doctors opinions about a drug (including how often they prescribe it and for what purpose) are directly influenced by a Big Pharma sales force. (3)

In fact, some doctors have publicly announced that they no longer meet with pharmaceutical sales teams because they realize it directly affects how well they can objectively treat their patients.

“I don’t think drug reps are evil people; in fact, many of them are pleasant people who are no doubt doing their job well. But the purpose of that job is to increase medication sales. My responsibility is to prescribe medicines in a manner optimal for the health of my patients. These two purposes may conflict.
Doctors need impartial, evidence-based information on medications. We should not confuse education for marketing. Are we told the whole truth about medicines by drug reps? The evidence says we are not.”
Brett Montgomery (4)

Meanwhile, the CDC reports, “Deaths from prescription opioids — drugs like oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone — have more than quadrupled since 1999,” rising right along with the numbers of prescriptions. (5)

Is This The End of OxyContin?

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Purdue Pharma might be taking a drastic step to dissociate themselves from the opioid crisis in the public eye, but the company has confirmed it will certainly continue to manufacture OxyContin along with its other product lines- they just won’t be marketing them to doctors.

Meanwhile, thanks to New York judge Garguilo, the rest of the United States now have a precedent to hold opioid makers like Purdue accountable to many many dozens of lawsuits claiming they’re responsible for thousands of opioid-related deaths across the country.

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